Patten Pleads Guilty to Hate Crime

On October 08, 2009, Winthropite Eric Patten, who was accused of assaulting two women in Provincetown over Memorial Day weekend because he perceived them to be gay, pleaded guilty to all charges in court today.

Patten, 20, was sentenced to one year in the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne with 30 days to serve, based on a judge's decision and one of the victim's written wishes, according to remarks in court today. Patten was handcuffed in Orleans District Court at around 11:45 a.m. today and led away by a court officer.

Patten will be on probation for two years, and was also ordered to comply with the provisions of a civil rights injunction against him obtained September 23 in Suffolk Superior Court by the state Attorney General's office. The order prohibits Patten from violating, in the future, the civil rights of the two victims and others in Massachusetts based upon their actual or perceived sexual orientation.

Prosecutors asked for 2½ years in jail with six months to serve as Patten's sentence. Defense attorney Edward Veara wanted Patten to avoid jail altogether and continue out-patient treatment for psychological problems. But the judge decided on a compromise, given that Patten had no past criminal record.

Patten's case is the first hate crime in Provincetown since 1997, said Provincetown police civil rights officer Sgt. Carrie Lopes and police records. The seaside village is a well-known gay tourist haven. Young gay women roughly between the ages of 18 and 24 generally vacation in Provincetown each year over Memorial Day weekend.

Pedestrians alerted police at around 1 a.m. May 23 to commotion on Commercial Street at the Post Office Café, an eatery in the center of town. Police saw Patten punching one woman on the ground, hitting her in the face with his right fist, the police report stated. The woman's female friend had Patten in a headlock.

The assault started after Patten crossed the street toward the two women, asking them if they were "faggots." He swung his fist at one of the women and pushed her up against a window of the café, said a prosecutor in court today. His belligerence continued as police arrested him on the street and attempted to book him at the police station, the prosecutor said.

The women were ages 22 and 23 at the time of the attack, according to comments made in court. Patten acted alone and did not know the young women before the incident.